Getting a Loan on Tricked Out Truck

Dear Miss Mota Mouth,

I want a loan for a tricked out truck. It has 174k on the whole vehicle and 55k on a new engine. KBB is $5300 when I put 174k in the mileage section and its $6800 when I put 55k on the engine. The truck is listed $6900 and the lowest they will go is $6500. The truck is in good condition and has a 4" lift with 3" body and 36" tires. A credit union will only loan you the amount the car is listed on KBB so will they accept the KBB price that has 55k on the engine or will they go with the amount of miles that are on the truck itself? Also, I know its hard without pictures but do you think this is a good price?

Jeff, Temecula, CA

Dear Jeff,

I think that your first problem with this is your last sentence:

"I know its hard without pictures but do you think this is a good price?"

It may be a sweet rig but at the end of the day, any lender is going to look at the mileage on that VIN number regardless of the engine, the lift or even if it has a $4000 system. Even if you showed the lender the pix of the lift, they would not care that it has a new engine. If you really want this one you may have to come up with the difference in cash and finance the KBB value through a lender.

Think of it like this- a ton of people put money into their high performance cars to customize them by adding tint, systems, wheels, trim, etc and that car is only worth what the base car is on the books. Someone may want an Audi A6 and not care at all that it sounds like a rock concert when it drives by- they just want the Audi for its speed and handling. Vehicles are really only worth what someone is willing to pay for them and lenders use the KBB as a guide to try to have some standards when doling out money for new rides.

Good luck!

M

Stumble It!